!!JAN. 34 
THE BUBAL ^EW-YOBKEB. 77 
A LETTER FROM PROFESSOR C. V. RILEY. 
To thk Editor of the Rural New-Yorker: 
Sir: —T And the following statements In an edi¬ 
torial In the Issue of Jan. Sth of your Journal :— 
[1] Professor Ci. V. Riley sought the position of En¬ 
tomologist to the Agricultural Department. [33 He 
solicited the press to pronounce upon his fitness for 
that, position. [3] He was appointed and -resigned. 
(4] Probably he was surprised that the resignation was 
promptly accepted, for he exerted his heat influence to 
pet back. [6] 1'hen he commenced and has aiuee in¬ 
dustriously continued his denunciations of the De¬ 
partment which, even If well founded, come from him. 
under such circumstances, with an exceedingly bad 
grace. 
The. third statement is true. J pronounce each 
and every one of the others most false and unwar¬ 
ranted. [l] The position of entomologist to the 
Department was tendered me after various con¬ 
sultations and some correspondence with the Com¬ 
missioner, and I was a candidate merely as others 
were alter the public announcement of Prof. 
Glover’s IU health and necessary withdrawal. [ 2 ] 
In accordance with custom, I solicited some dozen 
of the leading naturalists of the country to pro¬ 
nounce upon my illness for the position, but not a 
word was solicited from the press. [4] I waa not 
surprised at the acceptance of my resignation, be¬ 
cause sakl resignation was deliberate, for good 
reasons, and emphatic, and l twice declined to 
extend the time when It should take effect. In¬ 
stead of exerting my Influence to get back, I dis¬ 
suaded those who expressed the wish to have me 
back from making any attempt to bring about t hat 
end. [ej I have said nothing of t he Department 
since my resignation that t had not said before, or 
during my connection with It, nor written any¬ 
thing regarding It except the paper read at the 
organization of the American Agricultural Asso¬ 
ciation. Said paper, while fearlessly criticizing, 
was really a plea for the advancement of agricul¬ 
ture In this country, and for the re-organlzatlon of 
the Department on a broader and more useful 
basl3. It was without personality, tndorsed by 
members of the Society, and unanimously ordered 
printed. 
I am unwilling to let pass unnoticed such slan¬ 
derous statements In an old-established Journal 
for which 1 have always had respect, and unless 
they were made from sheer malice, you have been 
misled by others, and will retract. Respectfully, 
Washington, D. C., Jan. 12, 1880 . C. V. Riley. 
reply. 
We could hardly feel malice towards one who, 
so far as we know, has never harmsd us In any 
way or sought to do so. But If It were otherwise, 
we should feel t hat It would be rar from manly, 
were sve to suffer our personal dislike to show It¬ 
self in the columns or our own journal. To our 
way of t milking, the Department of Agriculture 
under Gen. Le l)uc, has displayed energy and a 
manifest desire to benetlt the tuterests of agricul¬ 
ture. vs hether H haa measurably succeeded or 
not, the eltort and the desire to do so should have 
shielded it from the vulgar gibes and reproaches 
that have been showered upon It by those who 
could have had no benevolent motive In so doing. 
When, therefore, any person holding the high 
post'ion that Professor uuey occupies as an ento¬ 
mologist, first seeks an oltiee In the Department 
or Agriculture and then, having become displeased 
with iw Chief, endeavors to be replaced after an 
Ill-considered resignation, and, ratling in this, 
denounces both the Department and its Commis¬ 
sioner, we assume that it is the business of the 
press in general, and of the agricultural preas in 
particular, to show wherein such reflections are 
without foundation lu fact. 
Professor Riley pronounces “each and every 
one ” of our statements as “ most false ’’—except 
the unimportant one that “ he was appointed and 
resigned." First, therefore, the statement (l) that 
he sought the position is “most false,' and second, 
the statement (2) that he " solicited the press to 
pronounce upon his fitness lot* that position ” is 
likewise “ most false.” 
We have the proof that, about a month previous 
to his appointment, he wrote a letter over his own 
signature requesting the “ Editor of the Rural 
New-Yorker,” to pronounce upon his fltness for 
the position of Entomologist to the Department of 
Agriculture. In view of his name having been men¬ 
tioned In that connection. 
In consideration of the fact that a number of the 
more Influential agricultural journals did at that 
time, as If by one accord, express their opinions 
respecting htb fitness for the position, we naturally 
concluded that the same request had been made 
or those journals, or this, however, we have 
no further proof than the above bit of cir¬ 
cumstantial evidence, somewhat strengthened, 
perhaps, by the fact that as we had no personal 
acquaintance with Prof. RUey, he was as likely to 
have made the request of other journals as of ours. 
The fact remains, all the same, that he aux make 
the request of us, and that therefore he did solicit 
a public expression or opinion “ from the press ’’ 
as to hla Alness for the position. The third state¬ 
ment is not questioned. We respect Professor 
Riley’s unwillingness to pass unnoticed any slan¬ 
derous statements from reputable sources. As 
they were not in the present case made from 
“ sheer malice,” or from auy malice whatsoever, 
If we have neen “ misled ” as to the fourth aud 
firth statements, we shall gladly and fully “ re¬ 
tract " them. On the other hand, Professor Riley 
Is thus tar called upon to admit that our flrst and 
second statements are not “ most raise," but abso¬ 
lutely true. _ 
Statement*, Letter*. Short-hind Report* of Con¬ 
versation*, A.C., from the Commissioner of 
Agriculture. 
DEI'ART.MENV OF AllRtOULTURE, I 
WaSUixuton, l). u., Jan. 16th, isso./ 
Eds. Rural New-Yorker : Your undorstaudlng 
of my verbal statement that Prof lUley tried to 
retain his position lu thu Department after his 
resignation had been accepted, Is correct, as the 
following extracts from cer aitn letters, aud from 
his conversation, taken down at the time In short¬ 
hand, will show. Prof. Riley’s resignation was 
dated March 29th, 1879, and was as follows: 
“ TTnwiuing to incur further risk of being treated 
discourteously whenever I make any suggestion 
for the benefit of my Division, and satisfied that, 
under present circumstances t cauoot. longer re¬ 
main Entomologist, of this Department and retain 
my self-respect, I hereby tender my resignation.” 
This resignation was accepted In the following 
words: 
“ I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt 
of your communication of date March 29th, ten¬ 
dering your resignation of the position of Entomol¬ 
ogist. of the Department. 
Passing without criticism the offensive manner 
and style of your communication, and looking to 
the good and harmony of the Department, your 
resignation is hereby accepted without comment, 
to take effect April 30th, A. D., 1ST9.” 
About this time I had occasion to he absent 
from the Department, and on my return I learned 
that the Baltimore Gazette, had published the 
following article written by Its correspondent 
here, Mr. Butler, whom at that time l had never 
seen:— 
“ Several weeks ago Professor Riley, Entomolo¬ 
gist of the Agricultural Department and former 
state Geologist or Missouri, sent in his resignation 
to Commissioner Le Due. in a conversation to-day 
Frof. Riley made certain statements that will be 
likely to lead to a Congressional Investigation. He 
remarked that he did not care so much about the 
personal affronts shown him by Le Due, but he 
did object to the latter assuming everything con¬ 
nected with h|s special Department Furthermore, 
he charges and stands prepared to prove that Mr. 
LeDuc has misappropriated funds set apart for the 
Commission appointed to Investigate the ravages 
of the cotton-worm In the South. The Professor 
says that, this fund is so drawn upon that he could 
not operate with any success. It was used In 
clerk hire, and he knows that a draughtsman 
sent out to Minnesota to make plans for a new 
house for Le Due, was paid from this appropriation. 
The Commissioner is about to have an interest¬ 
ing Investigation on his hands. It will he remem¬ 
bered that some time since the charge was public¬ 
ly made that Le Due had misappropriated the fund 
for seeds. This, it Is alleged, can he proved. It 
amounts to thousands of dollars. Since the resig¬ 
nation or Prof. Riley the place, he vacated has 
been offered by Le Due to Prof. Cyrus Thomas of 
ills., but that gentleman has written a caustic 
letter of refusal to the Commissioner, giving 
‘Under the circumstances’ as his reason.” 
This article was crowded Into papers all over 
the United States north and south, with such 
variations here and there a3 the editors of the dif¬ 
ferent papers chose to make. I call your atten¬ 
tion to this, and especially to the latter part, that 
you may compare it with the statements of Prof. 
Thomas and M r. BrLsbln Walker (and no one ac¬ 
quainted with either of these gentlemen will ques¬ 
tion their veracity). You will notice that the 
paragraph 6tates that Prof. Thomas “ had written 
a caustic letter of retusal” giving “ Under the cir¬ 
cumstances” as hla reason. But the words in 
quotation were used In this connection to convey 
the meaning that “under the circumstances” 
meant the dismissal of Riley. A copy of the letter 
In which Prof. Thomas accepts the position ten¬ 
dered him, will he Incorporated in this letter, that 
you may Judge of the motive that would prompt 
the desire to circulate such a falsehood. 
I sent for Mr. Riley, called his attention to the 
article, and the following Is a short-hand report of 
our conversation at that time: 
Commissioner.—“ The Chief Clerk was telling 
me this morning something In relation to a news¬ 
paper article which I have not yet seen. What is 
there of it?" 
Itiloy.—“I am very much annoyed at the way 
the thing has been mentioned. I tried to avoid It. 
A stranger to me came up to my house and wanted 
to got some points. I told him 1 had nothing fur¬ 
ther to tell him. 1 told him what the result of the 
resignation was To my surprise a paragraph 
appeared which I would not have had for anything 
I have studiously avoided—” 
Commissioner (Interrupting).—“ What waa the 
paragraph?" 
RUey.—“ Simply went on to state that Prof. 
RUey had resigned, the former geologist—he had 
It—of Missouri, and a lot of other erroneous ideas 
and even went at the Department." 
Commissioner.—“ Were there some specific 
charges or dlshouesty." 
Riley.—*' Something In regard to seed-” 
commissioner.—” svhat was there about the 
drawings that I employed a mau to do for me ?” 
RUey —“ It made reference to your employing 
some one to go to Minnesota to make drawings." 
Commissioner.—" You made no reference to it in 
your conversation ?” 
Riley.—“ No, sir.” 
Commissioner.—'’ What are the facts as you 
understand them?" 
Riley.—" I presume Mr. Butler has been reeling 
sore. He has made repeated charges and refer 
ences to the Department, and took advantage ot 
my resignation to come up there and lug my name 
In, Those are the lacts. * * * * 1 detest, the 
way newspapers Lake advantage of every oppor¬ 
tunity to make news This mac is stmplv repeating 
what he has said before. • * - • This mau, 
Mr. Butier, was fent up as a repre-enratlve or the 
Baltimore Gazette This man was sent up by Mr- 
Jones. I was hi my office at the rime. 1 just told 
him I had nothing whatever to say In regard to the 
mailer.” 
Commissioner.—'• Then the information came 
through Jones?” 
Riley.—"Yes; he told me lie had been sent by 
Jones.” 
The day following this conversation my attention 
was called to the charge ot implied dishonesty by 
the thenediioi ot -The Republic ’, Mr Brlsbtn 
Walker, who asked me If 1 wished to make the 
denial public. I advised Mr. Walker to call and 
Interview Prof Rlle.i, as I did not believe that 
gentleman had ever authorized Its publication. 
This Interview was heldand a report of it appeared 
In tiie “ Republic" of April 13th, and Is as rollows : 
“Finding In the Courier-Journal of Wednesday, 
what purported to he an Interview with Prof. 
Riley, late Entomologist of the Agricultural De¬ 
partment, In which serious charges were made 
against General Le Due, I took the trouble to call 
on Prof. Riley and show him the report. After 
reading It through carefully, he exclaimed em¬ 
phatically : ‘ This Is an outrage. It Is wholly made 
up, and no such Interview ever took place.' In the 
course ot further conversation he stated that he 
believed the interview to have been concocted for 
the purpose ot injuring Gen. Le Due. it 13 diffi¬ 
cult to estimate just what punishment a man 
deserves who will deliberately manufacture false¬ 
hoods against a Government official and send them 
broadcast by the telegraph. This is not the flrst 
time that an effort has been made to Injure the 
standing of the commissioner of Agriculture by 
the dissemination of malicious rumors; nor Is it 
the first time that falsehoods have recoiled to the 
discomfiture of the originators." 
On April 29111, Mr. Butier, correspondent of the 
Baltimore Gazette, called at my office and the fol¬ 
lowing stenographic report or his conversation 
explains Itself: 
Mr. Bui ler.—“ General, about ten days or two 
weeks ago I went up one day and had a talk with 
Prof. Riley. He made some statements to mo and 
I understand lately through Western men and 
several friends that he says he did not make them 
at all. I say that ho did make those statements. 
* * * If Mr. RUey wants to kick against any 
statement I made, 1 wlU face him In a minute. 
There were a great many things he did say I did 
not use. He made severaL broad statements * * * 
How did I know of It ir he did not tell me ?” 
I will now quote from a conversation held with 
Mr. Riley on the afternoon of April 29th, * * * * 
Commissioner.— * * * When charges are made 
by a man who, as he says, gets his authorlty from 
you and gets not only what he published but more, 
and from you, I have a right to believe it.” 
Riley.—" When you have the first reason to 
doubt my honor and Integrity you have; but I 
have tried to keep out of this, and I will face any 
man who says I have had anything to do with all 
this unpleasantness.” 
Commissioner.—" I will send for the newspaper 
man to come here to-morrow, and we will see 
what he has to say about this matter. He has 
elrher to say what he has told me or he has to 
confess that he has Red to my face." 
Mt. Butler could not come the next day, but 
made bis appearance May 1st, accompanied by a 
fellow reporter, Mr. W. P. Copeland. The follow¬ 
ing Is a short-hand report of what occurred. Mr. 
Butler called to meet Pror. Riley, who had made 
arrangements to meet him at two o’clock, but was 
at that hour absent. 
Mr. Butler.—" I want to meet him and have this 
thing settled tight up here and now. I don’t flinch 
a hair, you know.” 
Commissioner.—" Be said he would he here at 
two and have his witnesses.” 
Butler.—" Well, there were no witnesses to It.” 
Copeland*-" I waited nearly an hour In front of 
Riley's house while Mr. Butler was lu there. When 
he came out he told me what Riley had said ” 
The Commissioner referred to Mr. Riley’s denial 
of the Walker Interview. 
Mr. Butler.—" Yes, he Is trying to craw-tlah on 
that, too.” 
I give you these quotations from my short-hand 
reports upon this matter, that you may better 
judge of the character of a persou who would seek 
t.o retain a position in the Department after all 
this had passed. 1 will further quote for your In¬ 
formation from a short-hand report of April 29th. 
the same being an answer to your query whether 
RUey did or did not try to remain in the Depart¬ 
ment after Ills resignation and after furnishing the 
newspaper paragraph to Butier. 
Mr. RUey.—" I called at your house on Tuesday 
evening. 1 have had two letters from Thomas 
say lng that the position had been rendered to him 
and that he had declined it, I thought under the 
circumstances l would see you and find out whether 
you stUl desire me to leave or whether you felt 
convinced I had no Unger In that legislation. I 
wanted to know definitely about the matter. I 
should like to finish this investigation, and If 1 stay 
I have certain places where 1 would very much 
like to visit. * * * * I felt that if Thomas did 
not accept there might- be still a chance of your 
letting me continue. •’•Iam willing to ad¬ 
mit that 1 sent In the resignation hurriedly, hut 1 
thought you had something against me. Your 
man oar showed it. • 
Commissioner.—•* You seemed anxious to make 
your resignation, and even when you were advised 
to delay, the Chief Clerk teUs me you said ‘ No, 
you would not do It.' ” 
Riley.—"Ot course, Iain wiuing to admit l was 
hasty. * * * * Now, If Thomas comes here I 
would like to know just when he comes, and I 
would like, if possible, to make some arrangements 
to complete that Cotton Commission. If there Is 
a way of my remaining with you, If you are con¬ 
vinced that I am nor. the cause of this legislation.” 
—* l would like to do so”—is what he said: finishing 
the sentence. The short-hand writer did not get it 
down, as you see by —. lie lost a little and had to 
commence with:—"I know Thomas Is m this 
position:—He throws up his place at 53.000 and a 
position on the Commission He Is In a far better 
position than I am. He has expressed an unwil¬ 
lingness to go Into Department life. • * 1 
feel satisfied that It Thomas knew all tlie circum¬ 
stances he would be perfectly satisfied." 
Commissioner —If A- does not accept it, there 
la another party who stands ready to take It, ” 
Klley.—*• Well, I had hoped that some arrange¬ 
ment could be had, but this will end the matter 
tor the presell t." 
in this connection I now Incorporate the letters 
heretofore referred to. Under date of April 2 nd 
Prof. Cyrus Thomas writes : 
• ’akuondalk. Jackson Co.,III.. April 2 nd, 1879 
Hon. W. G. Lb Dec —ConUnoisloner q f Agricul¬ 
ture.—Dear sir: —The position of Entomologist to 
the Agricultural Department Is a very desirable 
one, and one which I would gladly accept under 
most circumstances,but do not see how T can do so 
this year consistently with my own interest. 
Tf I understand correctly, the salary Is only 
ILSOO or $2 000. With the family I have, this would 
hardly support me In Washington. The salary of 
State Entomologist ot Illinois, which office I now 
hold, Is 52 . 000 ; hence there 13 no pecuniary advan¬ 
tage to he gained by chancing. You are also fully 
aware of the expense and trouble ot breaking up 
and movtug a family the'dlstance I would have 
to go. 
The position you offer is one m which an Ento¬ 
mologist may gain great reputation, and hence Is 
to be desired on that account; but my first duty 
la to my family, and the salary, if what I under¬ 
stand It to he, would not justify me in making the 
change. 
Thanking you for the kind offer made, t must 
decline accepting, for t-he reasons given. Very re¬ 
spectfully, Cyrus Thomas 
This Is the letter upon which the press com¬ 
mented so severely, giving " Under the circum¬ 
stances” as the reason for bis declination. This 
confidential communication found its way to the 
public through the press and telegraph, hut with 
the wording and spirit so garbled as to show an evi¬ 
dent Intention and desire to have pending ne¬ 
gotiations looking re the appointment of Thomas 
suspended, and also tfhat It might, as far as possi¬ 
ble, call down on the CommLsstoner the censure of 
that portion of the newspaper press which has so 
long been used for the furtherance of Mr. Riley’s 
purposes. Meanwhile he wrote to Prof. Thomas 
requesting him as a friend to write me and try to 
correct what he (Riley) thought was an erroneous 
impression; t. e., to help him to get hack into the 
Department. 
Mr. CowlDg. of this Department, had suggested 
that he might go back if he obtained letters from 
parties certifying that- he had nothing to do with 
certain legislation—as will be seen from Cowing’s 
letter Inclosed. RUey obtained several letters on 
this point and presented them, but I did not think 
If. prudent or profitable for the Department to re¬ 
instate him. 
By means not necessary to be explained here, the 
Appropriation BUI did not provide the additional 
thousand compensation to the Entomologist, and 
hence Prof. Thomas addressed me the following 
letter on April 7 th. 
Carrovdai.e, AprU 17th, 1S79. 
Hon. W. G. LeDuc, Commissioner of AnrtevUm e 
—Dear Sir .-—Having examined the BUI making 
appropriations tor your Department, and having 
more fully considered the offer you so kindly made 
me, I have decided to recall mv acceptance. I do 
not see under the present condition of the Appro¬ 
priation Bill how I am to obtain the salary men¬ 
tioned. as the provisions are very strict and I can¬ 
not afford to leave Illinois and go to Washington 
for fi.yon. 
I think you and I could work together har¬ 
moniously and the position Is a desirable one, but 
until Congress will make a proper allowance for 
the position, 1 cannot agrea to take It. My accept¬ 
ance was based on the proposition as To salary, 
but! do not. see how it can now be carried out, arid 
as I do not want to make a change on uncertainty 
I must withdraw my acceptance But allow me 
to thank you for your flattering offer, and to state 
that I win at any time I can. wield anv influence T 
may have for the benefit of your Department. * * 
Very truly yours, Cykus Thomas. 
[The above letter has reference to another letter 
not published.— Eds.] 
After Prof. Thomas had declined, I tendered «he 
position to Prof. Comstock, the present En'omolo- 
gist. It, was, you know, accepted, and I have 
every reason to congratulate the Department and 
the country thereon. While all this was progress¬ 
ing. letters from various persons were, received 
evidently at the Instance ot Prof. Riley, to secure 
hts reinstatement In the Department These 
facts will, t think, sustain the statement, that 
Prof RUey Industriously tried to get hack Into the 
Department after he had resigned 
Wm. G. LeDuc. 
Department ok Agkicultukf. ) 
Washington, D. C„ Jan. tilth, isso / 
W, J. Cowing —Dear M r .-—in a conversation t 
had with an editor of a paper. I remarked that 
RUey tried to get hack In the Department after he 
h id resigned. If you have any knowledge upon 
this subject have the kindness to put it In writing 
aud send it to me at your very earliest conven¬ 
ience. Very respectfully yours. 
Wm g, LeDuc, Commissioner. 
Department of agriculture ) 
Washington, D. c , Jan. 16. isso./ 
Hon. w. g. Le Dec —Commissioner ofAffrtcuuure 
—sir .—In reply to your favor of this date. 1 would 
state that I learned a day or two after Prnressor 
Riley tendered his resignation, either through 
Prof. RUey or Gen. Carman. Chief clerk of the De¬ 
partment, or perhaps both, that the difficulty be¬ 
tween the flrst named gentleman aud yourself liad 
grown out of some Interference with legislation 
for the Department. As Prof. RUey disclaimed 
any such Interference, I remarked that if such fact 
was 3hown to the satisfaction of the Commissioner, 
I thought It would result In an amicable settlement 
ot the misunderstanding, and that his resignation 
might be withdrawn. My reeoUectton is that 
Prof. Klley acted upon this suggestion. 
Yours, very respectfuUy, W. J. Cowing. 
Department of Agriculture. ) 
Washington, d. C., Jan. it!, isso. | 
Ho.v. W. G. Le hoc—Commisaio'urr of Aar iculture 
—Dear sir .-—My recollections of the circumstances 
attending the resignation ot Prof RUey are as fol¬ 
lows: some time in April Prof. Klley Informed me 
that on the preceding day he had a conversation 
with you, in which your tone and conversation 
were so severe and marked that his self-respect 
would not allow htm longer to remain in the De¬ 
partment. He then handed me his resignation 
which I returned. Informing him that I thought 
his action hasty and lll-ad vised and advising him 
to withhold the same untii he had thought more 
of the matter He thought favorably of my sug¬ 
gestion, and I thought acted upon It, but the next 
morning 1 heard he had handed It In to you. some 
days later he seemed to have obtained the Im¬ 
pression, that If some matter relating in bis efforts 
to obtain special legislation were explained to 
your satisfaction, the resignation might be with¬ 
drawn. I thou told him that, U was too late, that 
his hasty action in the first place, coupled with 
some unfortunate newspaper articles had put It 
beyond my province to do anything tn tiie matter. 
Prof. RUey was anxious that the differences should 
be accommodated and he remain in the Depart¬ 
ment, a fact which Is strengthened In my mind by 
thu remark he made to me lu New York In Decem¬ 
ber last "that he had always had the impression 
that had I Interfered more actively in his behalf 
the matter might have been arranged." 
Very respectfully 
E. A. , Chief Clerk. 
